Spring's Promise of Renewal [159]

A Sip of WineSpirit #159

The wine world has its own wonderful holiday of spring celebrated at different points in this season, depending on terroir and growing conditions: “Budbreak”. As a Napa Valley newspaper heralded, “Budbreak is here. Let’s count our blessings and lift our glass to a new season of cheer!” It is spring, renewal time, opportunity to celebrate new possibilities to elevate our lives and rejoice in all we have. The Christian community during this season welcomes Easter opening up to deeper relationships with the Power that gives life and love. The Jewish community celebrates Passover emphasizing the importance of distancing from all kinds of enslavement: to time & scheduling, to ideas (“the way it’s done”), to money … all symbolized by getting out of “Egypt” which in Hebrew means “constriction”, and “narrow confinement”. There are so many ways to celebrate this season of renewal: the Easter Feast, the Passover Seder, the rejoicing in Budbreak. The Passover Seder uses wine extensively to accentuate the story telling and food tasting throughout the evening. Its parallel is found in every occasion where people gather for an evening of fine dining and fellowship. The enjoyment of a multi-course meal will often include pairing wines with different courses. Changes in taste in food and wine blend with the ebb and flow of conversation. It may be a vintner’s dinner, business people celebrating the close of an arduous deal, couples celebrating their anniversary, winegrowers rejoicing in Budbreak or folks enjoying a special dinner to welcome spring. The festive banquets and feasts that we make time to enjoy become significant events to savor and to cherish as we bask in the warmth and glow of renewal and welcome the lighter time of year.
What a wonderful season: renewal, rebirth, new light, renewed hopes, optimism, and the joy and blessing of freedom to choose to notice and celebrate spring and the fruits thereof.
May the growing light of this time of year add spring to your steps, and may all your glasses be full and overflowing with the blessings of renewal and the planting of seeds that will yield wonderful harvests in all that awaits you as the year continues to unfold.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. Which is your favorite season, and what makes it special?
2. What special activity do you enjoy particularly in spring?
3. How does the life cycle in the vineyard contribute to awareness of and appreciation for the cycles of the year?

Turning Loss into Unbridled Joy through a Special Wedding Toast [158]

A Sip of WineSpirit #158

Family and friends gathered for a wedding that brought celebration into the lives of people who almost two years earlier had gathered to confront the death of the 34 year-old sister of the future groom. Jessica had lost a battle she fought her entire life against the ravages and complications associated with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Two years later the dominant mood shifted from shock and sadness to joy and celebration over the marriage between Jessica's brother and the woman his sister had enthusiastically welcomed into his life before her death. But could Jessica's presence be acknowledged during the wedding without diminishing their happiness? So, a candle in her favorite color, purple, was lit under the wedding canopy along with mention made of her and other departed relatives in the program.

At the rehearsal dinner people took turns toasting the couple, and yet, as each toast was made regaling bride and groom, two of Jessica's friends began to feel with each additional toast that something was missing. After all, Jessica was the big sister who two years earlier gave her blessing to her brother encouraging him to marry this most wonderful woman. Surely she belonged at the festivities in a more direct way. So, as if propelled by some greater force, quite spontaneously, they included Jessica in their toast. They said how pleased Jessica was about this special couple and how much she would want the room to be filled with delight and joy in celebrating them.

The effect of the toast was palpable. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that turned to unbridled joy. They now felt Jessica’s presence filling them all with happiness. The toast by her friends replaced shadow with bright light that warmed every heart. Clinking glasses and sipping wine in Jessica’s honor gave everyone permission to let loose and join with this family in joyful celebration. As one guest said in a comment to Jessica's parents: she had never seen such happiness at a wedding before.

What a blessing is the ritual of toasting, a format allowing others in their own ways to add to and enhance the joy of all assembled. It took that ritual and context to allow a bride and groom and their family and friends to come out from the shadows of life's painful realities to shine in the making of a new wonderful reality, a blessing and a memory for the ages.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. In addition to toasting what example comes to mind of a "structure" that allows broader participation than what is set in the formal schedule?
2. What is it about a toast that can change the energy in a room in a significant way?
3. What memories do you have of appreciating a time of great joy as a sense of healing from a sad event that had darkened life until that point?
   

Reflecting on the "Politics" of Toasting [157]

A Sip of Wine Spirit #157
by Larry Leigon with questions by David White

In a CD by Tom Harpur, author of The Spirituality of Wine, Tom suggested that certain people have a problem with toasts: that toasting one individual, as at a wedding, raised one person above the rest of us.

I suppose there will always be people who don't agree with me, but, it seems to me, when we celebrate an individual through a simple ritual like the toast, we always have the choice to notice again that the individual is part of us, that we really are all in this together, and that to toast one of us is to toast all of us.

As for factors that include or separate, elevate or diminish...It seems to me that any ritual, from the smallest to the largest, has to deal with the problem of trying to define and capture something that can't be defined or captured. It doesn't matter whether it's a small private ritual by a single person to honor a birth or a death, or if it's an inauguration of the President of the United States, or the Christmas Mass at the Vatican.

For the ritual to be alive, it must somehow touch in us something greater than ourselves, and that which all of us are together in. It must bring some experience, however small or fleeting, of that connection to everything that is not-me into awareness, or it is empty. Either it means nothing at all, or it honors the person as if they had created their own talent, or skill, and in that case, folks who have problems with toasts are right. It is saying that one person is above us all. More insidiously, it says unconsciously that our own personalities are more important than whatever it is that makes us alive in the first place.

The difference in meaning, it seems to me, must lie somewhere in the area of intention, of the ability and willingness to be present, of sincerity and of a conscious decision about what we are honoring...ourselves… or that which is greater than us. Whether the lifting of the glass means anything or not depends on us, and our willingness to at least entertain the possibility that we are not the source of what we think or do.

Hosts and hostesses of gatherings and parties can better set the tone for the event, in those they invite, and how they make guests feel at home. When guests feel they belong in the gathering, more likely a toast for the "honoree" will elevate the entire assembled.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. As host, what steps could you take to assure that all your guests feel included and connected at the party?
2. What factors contributed to your feeling put off by a toast for an honoree that you like and respect?
3. What example comes to mind of the elevation of an individual that uplifted all attendees?
   

Vines and Veins and Awakenings to Life [101]

A Sip of WineSpirit #101

Many unique images associated with wine suggest a long view of life and a multi-generational grasp of its significance.

Vines carry the flow of life wherever and however they grow. They also carry memory of life that was. The vine and its fruit go back at least 8000 years, predating human memory. A vine brings into being the fruit that has been the taste of life's most precious, most important and oft times happiest moments, elevated to consciousness, through the magic of toasts and well wishing.

Wine’s long and storied history extends far beyond the bounds of human history, well before the Dark Ages, when religious and political institutions curtailed human imagination, creativity and opportunities for discovering renewed meaning to life.

It is a tale of “vines” and “veins”, identical letters, intertwining. Veins carry life's flow, pumped through the heart, enabling you to be well enough to give thanks and to toast with the fruit of the vine. Veins and vines, heart and soul, intersect in a moment's toast; fruit of the vine turns life flowing through the veins into consciousness of blessing.

What a wondrous and strategic partnership from earliest antiquity: the fruit of the vine consecrated to Life brings consciousness of blessing into light. Deriving strength and inspiration in its ceremonial application, people from the outset
persevered in their long, tortuous, and enduring trail of discovery: that life was a miracle worthy of notice and praise, with new meaning and new insight always awaiting discovery and celebration.

The long and tangled threads of veins and vines bring you to this moment to raise glasses and exult with thanks for whatever it is that keeps you alive and allows you to make it to this moment, where you are and with whom...right now, another taste of the miracle of life.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How far have we come in 8000 years?

2. What ancestral memories of celebrating with wine are part of your family history?

3. How do your internal feelings intertwine with external factors to provide perspective on how life is meaningful to you?

You Can Go Home Again [100]

A Sip of WineSpirit #100

If you are "spending" more time with family and friends, and entertaining more at home, you are not "alone". After all, home is where life begins and ends. It's what you do in the middle, away from home, that "takes" most of the time. What you do in the middle, the work of life, determines what home life looks like: the location, the neighborhood, the size and decor, and all the "stuff" of life you have collected and display or store away. It sets in motion what you do, or not, at home and with whom.

After September 11 and more than two years of economic downturn, increasing numbers of people have been doing more at home, less with their possessions and more with friends and family. It is not only less expensive: it feels good. Relaxing through a nice slow meal not only feels good; it nourishes hope that good times await, wonderful memories to be made, enjoyed and celebrated.

Since September 11 many people have determined to be more in "today", since tomorrow, even later today, is, in spite of all assumptions, uncertain.

People staying at home and inviting in others, more than any time since the 1950's, has led to increased valuing of relationships and the enjoyment of blessings today, wonderful moments at affordable prices, adding joy and passion to life.

To help celebrate, there are always choice wines, I.E. wines you "choose", well balanced in taste, character and price. A good wine, a good meal, and good people... such blessing to come home to, and so much to toast of life and its preciousness.

This is good "medicine" for taking on the stresses of life that unbalance, disrupt and worse. Here is the prescription for taking this remedy:

"...Elevate your glass, look into the eyes and toast: Cheers! To Health! To Life! Share the feeling, the affection, and the love that is in your heart.”

How good it can be back at home.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How, if at all, have your habits, patterns, and usage of time changed in the last two years?
2. What has increasing awareness of life's fragility and unpredictability done to your priorities?
3. What memories come up of enjoyment of a lovely and leisurely meal providing an oasis from pressures outside?

Wine ...Coke... Certainty...Uncertainty [98]

A Sip of WineSpirit #98

Every fruit and vegetable has a specific and unique taste, and most consistently taste the "same". You count on that in your brand loyalty and in restaurants you frequent.

The same cannot be said of vintage wine; there is no "sameness", no absolute standard by which to hold up a bottle of wine. Each wine is not the same, from barrel to bottle and from year to year.

You count on a food having a predictable taste. The dependability of a banana or an apple tasting as it should feeds a basic need to be assured that much of life is predictable and under control.

For the most part you can count on television programs appearing in the order listed in TV Guide. And, you can count on the food you munch and the soda or beer you drink, as you watch, tasting the same all the time. Then the TV program will surprise and unsettle or delight and entertain in providing its controlled respite from the stresses and strains of real world challenges that surprise and unsettle you. At least the TV “problems” are usually resolved within the hour.

In your own world, opportunities for character and spiritual growth emerge in the ways you handle life's little and large difficulties, as you apply yourself and solve them in your own unique way.

While you may prefer life's predictability, reality is based in not knowing for certain what will happen next.

It's nice to share a glass of wine in reviewing the day’s challenges and how you responded to any surprises. The discovery of how the wine actually tastes serves to concretize the truth that such moments are what life at its finest and richest is all about... much more than what you feed yourself with TV, chips, and a can of Coke.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What do you prefer more, predictability or surprise and when, if ever, does your preference change?
2. To what degree does your enjoyment of wine correlate with its unpredictability?
3. How important is it for you to have a blend of what you can count on as consistently the same and dimensions that are unpredictable?

Holidays...Memorable Days...Every Day! [97]

A Sip of WineSpirit #97

In the course of a year there are many holidays, some shared as a nation, and others through particular faith traditions to which different people belong. Some are valued more than others. Mothers Day seems to get more attention than Fathers Day. In most circles Valentines Day draws more attention than Veterans Day. The ways you observe special days, and whether they are of consequence or not, reflect your values; some matter more, and others less or not at all.

In sitting with someone interested in WineSpirit, we toasted the start of lunch over glasses of wine as we introduced ourselves. Then, after passionate conversation as to how wine's spiritual dimension inspired us both to savor special moments throughout each day, we spontaneously raised glasses and toasted again. The two distinct toasts marked a powerful progression in a quickly developing relationship that might have been overlooked had we not acknowledged it in such a way.

There is so much more to celebrate and appreciate than what is addressed in mandated days of observance. These official days could serve as reminders to notice more of what they commemorate on a regular basis, every day; that way you elevate awareness to levels of appreciating more of life’s ordinary blessings. You could become more mindful of mothers and fathers, all the time. You could think of sharing flowers, candy and whatever else with loved ones more often. You could be mindful on an ongoing basis, through Memorial Day and Veterans Day, of those who have served our country and safeguarded its freedom. The Fourth of July could suggest a daily exercise in counting blessings for living in this country with its unique vision of the rights of everyone to live in freedom, dignity and the happiness of a society that in principle celebrates differences.

The toast accompanying many a visit over a meal is its own reminder that every day contains holiday-type elements worth noticing and worthy of celebrating.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How many holidays, small and large, can you notice, worthy of celebration…right now?
2. How about inventing new holidays (with Hallmark’s blessing!) such as Brothers Day and Sisters Day?
3. On what occasion, if ever, do you derive strength from the reminder: today is the first day of the rest of your life?

Wines You Choose and Values You Live [96]

A Sip of WineSpirit #96

Attitudes about wine range from valuing it for its prestige to enjoying an inexpensive red complementing a plate of spaghetti. Choices in wine are as wide-ranging and as varied as the moods you can go through in the course of a day. For some it is a matter of stature, a statement of identity in owning a prestigious wine; some appreciate wine, costly or not, for the way it enhances a meal and a moment shared with family and friends.

The ways people value wine mirror choices made in life. Do material possessions define and characterize who you are, or do they reflect the way you enjoy life and how you share happy times? You may think of wine as another measurement of how far you have come, an expression of having transcended "ordinary" ways people live.

Wine's spiritual dimension is based in choice: you can look for ways to draw nearer to people and deepen awareness of blessings in life or you can think in terms of keeping distant from life's common things and ordinary moments. Any one of us at any time could be either. Wine's spiritual dimension beckons in the direction of drawing nearer to others and growing in awe of the human partnership with nature, and blessings that abound in enjoying wines of goodness and greatness.

The common denominator associated with wine and its enjoyment is "lifestyle". Whether setting you apart or enhancing your relationships, wine is the unique consumable that helps you better appreciate who you are and who and what you value in the way you enjoy it.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What things in your life reflect who you are and your values?
2. How has your usage and appreciation of wine changed over time, and how does such change correlate with changes in yourself?
3. If you were a wine, what wine would you be?

Vineyard-to-Vineyard: Lessons of the Land Applied in Daily Life [95]

A Sip of WineSpirit #95

Ongoing lessons of the vineyard, details along the way as vines grow grapes, that through the magic of human intervention turn into wine, show how each moment is an aspect of life filled with potential to make or do something good. Wine ripens and "ages" in the bottle, as do you, each time you enjoy a glass and enrich another moment at the dinner table.

It is no surprise that grapes and wine remain from antiquity as symbols and tools for noticing life's blessings and acting on that awareness. The fruit of the vine carries echoes of what is di'vine', many magical moments, many little things that have to go right to turn that grape into a special sip of wine. From ancient times to our own days, lessons abound.

How many grapes go into a bottle of wine, many hundreds and more? They demonstrate that living alone, standing alone, and going “it” alone is not nature's way. When everything and everyone is in tandem, goals are achieved that one alone cannot access, any more than what a single grape can produce, perhaps just a hint of a taste of something good, if that much. Each grape is a reminder that many facets go into a single achievement, a moment worth cherishing; and as surely as all those grapes have their moment that passes all too quickly, each particular triumph allows but a pause until the next celebration of yet another accomplishment.

Ours is the opportunity to engage the many vineyard teachings as ways to open up to endless possibilities; we can take the vineyard that is our life, seemingly ordinary moments, part of a sequence of ordinary days, and transform it into extraordinary ones that fill each and every day with quality and outstanding achievement.

If Lessons of the Vineyard abound, so do possibilities for us to access countless extraordinary moments in unlimited kinds of ways. Each of us “grapes” has a lot to contribute, after all, to the fruitfulness and blessings, the seeds and blossoms that grow and flow through us and our unique journeys.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How could you liken your life to a vineyard?
2. What Lessons from the Vineyard have the most meaning for you and your living situation?
3. What example comes to mind of combined effort leading to significant accomplishment?

The Power of Passion [93]

A Sip of WineSpirit #93

In response to watching Justin Meyer speak of passion in the WineSpirit Video, one person saw it as a vital driving force within himself and an integral part of life in the world of grapes, vineyards and wine.

While making wine is a "business", there is an added dimension that contributes to a good wine having great attributes. For many, it is passion, loving the work, marveling at the process, and rejoicing in the outcome.

None of it is easy, especially in difficult times; yet what transcends stresses and difficulties is knowing from start to finish you are dealing with a special facet of life with all its vulnerability and magnificence.

The passion evoked in the vineyard, and in the tasting of a wine, energizes and awakens the spirit to the joy of being alive, engaged in something special. The passion takes hold and fills you with a feeling of so much that is good and wonderful in life, and so many blessings to share.

While few can walk in a vineyard and breathe in that sight and ambience on even an occasional basis, anyone can make it their "business" to find a quiet place, a still space, to ponder Lessons of the Vineyard and reconnect with what brings passion out of them.

It may seem a difficult assignment in the crush of a daily schedule, but in so doing, you can tap into energy within that can stir an awakening to reevaluate and appreciate anew under-noticed blessings. Those who have no choice but to work in uninspiring circumstances are left to make time for what they do love, the activities and hobbies that can energize.

A passionate moment filled with love for life is one worth celebrating not just in heartfelt toasts over a special wine, but at any time you can pause to notice what and who matters in making life precious. Such moments allow things that are bad to become bearable and things that are good to become wonderful.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What makes you passionate?
2. What are the positives and what are the negatives that you associate with passion?
3. How does passion awakened in you affect other facets of your day and your equilibrium?

When Wine Calmed Nerves in a Time of Grave Danger [92]

A Sip of WineSpirit #92
With thanks to Elsebeth

A member of the Napa Valley Tour Guide Guild shared a memory of when wine helped calm frightened people during a frightening time. She grew up in Denmark during World War II and recalled the day it was announced that all Danish Jews were to turn themselves in to the Nazi authorities. Her family was among many Danes who united in doing what they could to rescue Jewish neighbors. They went into the streets to invite any Jews they could find to surreptitiously come home with them.

As a number of people gathered under her family's roof, the tension in the room was palpable, with an air of unspeakable danger. Her mother, sizing up the overcrowded house, responded: "I'll just add a little more water to the soup!" The assembled "guests" gathered around the relatively undersized table for dinner in an atmosphere heavy with fear and foreboding.

The mood only changed markedly for the better when her mother opened some of their finest wine and "formally" welcomed the guests. She never forgot how the weight was lifted, as people smiled for the first time, even laughed in exchanging toasts, clinking glasses, and uttering hopes that this harrowing time would soon pass.

After the opening of that special wine, the evening took on an air of calm, even a measure of happiness. As it turns out, that bottle would contain a lifetime memory of a historically horrible circumstance transformed into a hope that all was not lost; it served as a symbol that there were yet good people in this world with whom to harvest good times.

A story such as this can be a reminder to hold on to as much as you can of good moments and tidings, and wellbeing. It’s also nice to be reminded that, with each other’s help, we have ways of “coping” even under the worst of conditions.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What factors contributed to everyone lightening up at that Danish dinner table?
2. What symbol(s) can you think of that reminds you of a significant, possibly life transforming, time in your past?
3. What memory do you have of a special wine that energized a room?

What goes into a Friendly Conversation? [91]

A Sip of WineSpirit #91

The most informal context for people to engage each other is over a meal or a cup of tea or coffee. It is an environment that invites "conversation".

Over a glass of wine you could converse about the subtle distinction between "conversation" and "discussion". The latter is more structured and formal as participants address a topic of some agreed upon importance. Usually food is not served except for water or a cup of coffee. When discussions are held over meals, it often involves eating quickly and then getting "down to business".

Conversation can be personal in exploring individual attitudes, interests and concerns that might not be on the “agenda” for a discussion. While discussions may involve plans for getting things done, conversations can open portals to deeper and more meaningful personal interactions.

WineSpirit programming includes a "Conversation Curriculum", allowing participants to get to know one another better, share stories, and discover commonalities and divergences in values.

The conversations are based in seven broad overlapping areas: Identity (principles shared by people attracted to wine and its spiritual dimension); Origins (marveling at ancient connectors to spirituality); Gleaning (insights garnered over the years, connecting wine and vineyard metaphors to daily living); Discovering (sharing personal stories and life lessons like those of wine elders and sages captured in WineSpirit Video Conversations); Celebrating (brainstorming ideas and ways to increasingly commemorate and enjoy special moments in the day); Harvesting (uncovering different ways and strategies to attain and retain balance); and Savoring (internal “conversation”, quiet reflection in counting blessings).

While a conversation could be “small” talk, you always have a choice to enlarge the scope of awareness and unique insights you share with others along the “ways”. Such interactions allow us all to better appreciate so much that is special in our lives, especially nuances that might be lost were we not to take time to pause and share in such an informal and open-ended manner.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How much time do you allow in your day for meaningful conversation?
2. What memories do you have of getting to know someone better or deepening a relationship over a meal or cup of coffee?
3. How do you distinguish between a conversation and a discussion, and with what difference in outcome?

The Fruits of Sharing What You Love [90]

A Sip of WineSpirit #90

In a WineSpirit visit with the Napa Valley Tour Guide Guild it became clear that these people love their work: hosting visitors to the wine country. Their passion begins with their love for the Napa Valley. A few came in the early 70’s when Napa was a sleepy town with little going on in terms of fine food, culture and choice in wine.

One aspect contributing to their love of tour guiding is their appreciation for the magic of the land, sheer beauty and majesty in the rolling hills, the gentle slopes, and the vivid colors of grapes and vineyards revealing a picture of eloquent partnership between nature and people.

Such magnificence counterbalanced for the early comers what was otherwise a place with nothing happening. Old-timers recall pilgrimages to San Francisco as often as twice a week for a fixing of good food and decent culture.

All that has changed. The valley is vibrant with activity and good taste, in the growing arts, the proliferation of destination quality restaurants, and in the opportunity to devote endless days enjoying tastes of countless unique and precious wines.

These “gatekeepers”, who welcome visitors to the wine country, unlock many secrets contained in the magic of life in the vineyards and tasting rooms. In so doing, they are themselves stimulated and inspired by the awe and wonder that overtake their charges. In reliving the valley through first time experiences of people from all over the country and the world, the guides reconnect each time with their own love of where they live and what they do in transforming a day’s visit into a lifetime memory for the visitor. They are left with renewed appreciation for so many of life’s blessings to be found ongoing in one of the awe-inspiring places in the world.

While not everyone can do work that inspires and reinvigorates to such an extent in serving others, any of us can make an extra effort to share facets of life we truly love, and in so doing, experience some of what transpires for these tour guides. It is another facet of life’s specialness manifesting in what goes around coming back around.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What part of what you do in your work brings out the most passion in you?
2. What do you remember of sharing your passion for something you know well and love with someone new to that experience?
3. What situations and circumstances make you excited to be alive and how does your feeling that way "translate" to others?

Motivators at Work [86]

A Sip of WineSpirit #86

Many who work in the wine community love what they do. They came to it recently or long ago as a calling from other career tracks that may have bored them or burned them out. There is an allure to the vineyard and wine made evident in the sharing of stories of how work in the vineyard and wine making bring magical qualities to life.

In a WineSpirit conversation the question was raised: is there a difference in some people and the motivators that brought them to the world of wine? This question takes on new meaning during an economic downturn when it becomes more challenging to sell wine and maintain a comfortable life style. The question is of passion. There are many who are passionate about being part of the wine community and participating in the magic of turning grapes into wine. They love most facets of the work, from vineyard to bottling to sales. The love goes deep and contributes not only to quality of life, but also to a larger sense of meaning and fulfillment flowing into all they do, and the friends and family with whom they share their lives.

Some making wine came to it less as a calling and more as a business opportunity, especially when it seemed to make economic sense. The question is whether their initial motivation eventually led to a different kind of appreciation, a level of meaning and fulfillment they hadn’t originally anticipated taking root.

That question could apply in whatever work you do. When you are fortunate enough to love your work, that often translates into love for life and treasuring time. It enhances all other facets of your being and contributes to a feeling of balance and meaning that enriches everything else you do and the times you share with family and friends.

Your work may reflect how you spend most of your time, and the income it yields affects much of what you can do with the balance of your life and the quality of time you share with others. The challenge is to see that time is well spent not only in financial reward, but also in the energy it generates, through a job you love and do well, infusing all other facets of your being with the joy of a life blessed with fruitfulness and fulfillment.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. What attracted you to the work you do?
2. How does your work contribute to your passion for life?
3. If it is different from work you used to do, why did you change jobs?

Planting for the Future [85]

A Sip of WineSpirit #85

Al Brounstein founder of Diamond Creek Vineyard made a striking comment in a WineSpirit Video Conversation: his wines would outlive him because they would be drinking for a hundred years. However accurate his prediction turns out to be, the insight is compelling. A winemaker can produce something that could possibly outlive her or him.

These precarious times invite reflection: Where are you in the cycle of life? What have you planted, sown, and reaped? What have you harvested? What have you tasted and savored of life’s sweetness along your way?

It matters not the profession or the work you do; a part of you will remain after you are gone. You weave a life story each day, sow seeds, nurture relationships in unique ways, and never know the impact you are having on those with whom you interface.

Unique to wine’s longevity is that, unlike a well-built cabinet that will last a century or more, wine will meet a sudden end in serving the purpose for which it was crafted: a celebration of life, a blessing of abundance, a prayer for peace, a wish for good health, a thanks for special memories, a toast for the future.

In a time when we are more acutely aware that tomorrow is not a certainty, and never will be, we can appreciate more than before this moment along with those in our treasure chest of memories.

We may not reap all the harvests we plant, but we can feel blessed knowing that what we do plant may benefit and provide something of value to someone coming after us.

That is what has helped Al Brounstein endure 20 years of Parkinson’s Disease: knowing and enjoying that he turned a beautiful piece of land called Diamond Creek into even greater beauty: eye-catching waterfalls, colorful gardens, and uniquely precious grape harvests that will perpetuate the work of a particular man years after he planted his vineyards and labored with such love along that way.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How could reflection on what you will leave behind influence what you are doing now?
2. What tangible gifts do you possess from someone no longer alive?
3. How does coming to grips with the uncertainty of tomorrow impact the quality of your life today?

Wine’s Spiritual Dimension is Cause for Optimism [84]

A Sip of WineSpirit #84

It is easy to be pessimistic with so many threats facing the world, let alone, everything on your own plate. For many there is too much to do and too little time. Keeping up is an accomplishment. Keeping “up” becomes a strategy for retaining enough balance to effectively juggle, and that the juggling is more a “game” than stressful “acts” of despair.

In Biblical tradition the Creator mandates Sabbath as a day devoted to “resting”, as the Power of Life rests after the Week of Creation. Actually, it is the first case of parental role modeling. The Creator, having no “need” to rest, models it for the “children”, who do need rest in this realm of sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, and (to add a “sixth”) imagination. This physical realm, with its good and bad, sadness and joy, is exhausting. Society provides “tools” for rest: a martini, a glass of milk, a soft drink, a beer, a glass of wine…

Wine’s spiritual characteristics manifest in engaging life’s unique “resting” points with shared toasts. These energizing moments provide context to reflect on bad stuff that weigh you down and good stuff often undervalued and overlooked. Out of this life-affirming energy emerges positive perspective, which can provide access to a valuable resource: “optimism.”

A sip of wine’s spirituality encourages you to breathe along with the wine, relax in the moment, put things together, and look at life with hopefulness. This kind of “rest” can provide strength to have a good tomorrow: time for tasks that await you, ways to let go of what is beyond control, and focus in helping one another engage overwhelming matters together.

In clinking with toasts to life, you can tap into reserves of optimism engendered in such moments. It gives pause to appreciate and wonder how these pauses can move you in the direction of turning what is bad into something good, perhaps even participating in modest ways to bring the world closer to safety, security and long awaited, lasting peace.

Questions to consider and comment upon:

1. How much do world events affect your day-to-day life?

2. To what degree are you an optimist and where does it originate?

3. How much does the perspective in this Sip apply to your living situation?

How Full is your Cup? [83]

A Sip of WineSpirit #83

In the rush and the crush of the day it is hard to find time to pause.

What if you could find a moment and use it to focus on what’s working well?

What is going ok today, something you could notice that you usually don’t?

If you could find that time to pause, it could generate increased energy for everything else you are doing. Consider a moment with a glass of wine in hand while sharing a meal. Each sip provides a pause, a taste of a unique experience. What are you feeling? What are your thoughts?

How many sips are in that glass?

How many snatches of presence, consciousness, appreciation for good taste in the company you keep and the food you eat is there for each sip that comes out of that glass?

A sip of wine's spiritual dimension is a taste of abundance, of blessing, of seeing good through turbulence; it is recall of details of what goes well more than not. It is an opening to see the fullness in a part of the day, the strengths you find to face difficulties, the feelings of triumph in overcoming the odds...

Happy are they whose cups overflow with abundance that fills and covers the deficiencies and lacks. Each sip can charge you with energy to refocus on positives, possibles, and take you away from aches, pains, and naggings that pull you down.

What added strength can you gain each time you dedicate a sip to something positive, to someone else and their wellbeing, in the utterance of a toast?

How many toasts are in each glass of wine overflowing?

Each can infuse your world with good: positives, possibles, doing good things with good people, getting better every day! Each time you pick up the wine glass is another opportunity to remember to elevate a moment and dedicate it to more that is good now and again.

I raise this "cup" to you, that it bring you blessing even as you bring blessing to others: To Life! Cheers!

The Sommelier who lost his Taste for Wine [82]

A Sip of WineSpirit #82

A friend related that to gain admission to a wine and food tasting in another state a wine magazine editor friend permitted him to be their rep. The hosts asked him to be a wine judge. Determined to cancel the plan, he called his friend, who in response assured him he knew wine well enough and added this important tip: "be true to your opinion."

With trepidation he joined a team of two other judges. One was a wine editor from a local paper that he figured didn’t know much more than he, given his own access to California wine. The other was an arrogant French sommelier.

Tasting the first wine the sommelier went into ecstasy: one of the finest wines! The “pretender” not knowing what to say suggested it was premature to give such accolades before tasting more of the wines. The expert dismissed the next wine: it's awful! The pretender, angered from the start by the arrogance, despite his insecurities, blurted out, “I disagree. This is a wonderful wine!” The wine editor, also angry, agreed with the pretender.

So it went a number of times. The expert pontificated and the two spitefully disagreed. With the sixth wine the sommelier began to blurt, then stopped: “what do you think?" They gave their reviews, again in agreement with each other, and the sommelier agreed with them. So it went with each wine thereafter: a different order of sharing opinions now yielded harmonious reviews.

How fascinating! A judging of wine was a judging of people, their values, self-assurance, and the impact they had on each other. A professional wine person, wrapped up in self-importance with his "knowledge" of wine, was taken apart by two, lesser credentialed, who were put off by his presumptive arrogance.

How ironic that wine, valued for its balance, can bring out such imbalance in people in the ways they pass judgment on wine and each other.

However you read the experts, this is enduring: wine engages each person's taste buds uniquely, making "experts" of us all.

Questions to Consider and Comment upon:

1. How is it possible for an expert in a field to be unnerved by relative amateurs?

2. What do you make of this paradox: you can devote a career to understanding wine and its taste, yet each person's opinion is legitimate?

3. To what degree does your work expertise "spill over" into other areas of life i.e. self-worth and self-esteem?

Wine’s Spiritual Dimension Enhances its Other Benefits [79]

A Sip of WineSpirit #79

Of the many aspects of wine that appeal to people, the spiritual one, commonly overlooked, is arguably what gives “legs” to the others. Wine is: business, agricultural product, processed food, accompaniment to cuisine, a product that has fascinated artists throughout time, and a healthful product…all facets appealing to different tastes and interests.

Wine’s spiritual dimension adds value to all its areas of use. The spiritual facet complements the French Paradox: people eating foods bad for the heart suffer reduced heart ailment due to the consumption of red wine. It contextualizes the wine connectors in reminding us to appreciate, value and respect all of life’s complexity: work, sustenance, relationships, aesthetics, and overall health to have and to celebrate each day.

Ironically, many who value and seek spirituality associate the search primarily with formal or designated religious settings. There is little expectation or strategy for applying such values and experiences in other parts of the day and week with whatever mindfulness and inspiration they derived. Also ironic: special moments in designated spiritual places are often themselves fragments, disconnected from other details that fill days and weeks.

WineSpirit seeks to bring the spiritual dimension into everyday life, in recognizing wine as a catalyst for connecting to our own nature, valuing taking time for self and others, cherishing balance in the many facets of life, and respecting the magic and mystery of wine in its creating partnership with nature and people.

Every part of the process that produces a glass of wine, the grape, the vineyard, and the wine itself, encourages connectivity between all life’s fragments and a seeking of greater balance and increased satisfaction in the wholeness that emerges out of all the fragments.

Questions to consider and comment on:

1. Where do you seek and find spirituality?

2. What connections can you make between wine's spiritual nature and its other properties?

3. How difficult is it for you to associate spirituality with aspects of life beyond formal religious settings?

Wine’s Contribution to Healthier Brain Function [76]

A Sip of WineSpirit #76
With thanks to Jim Lapsley

A General Theory of Love, a book by three research psychiatrists, reveals the seat of “love” in the brain, or more accurately, in one of three brains. Each brain has a different job. The oldest and innermost is the reptilian brain, keeping us physically alive. The middle brain, the limbic, is the emotional "right brain", which is where the concept of love resides. The limbic brain houses emotions, intuitions, caring, playfulness, and all that we metaphorically identify as “right brain”. The outer brain, the neocortex, is home to reading, writing, speech and analytical and intellectual characteristics. The neocortex, commonly referred to as the "left brain", surrounds the others and usually dominates.

In its typical function the neocortex limits access to much of the limbic brain. A glass of wine, however, reduces the activity of the neocortex and allows the limbic brain to become more apparent and to function with more of what we call colloquially the "right brain."

In quieting the neocortex, wine allows people to open up more. It explains the phenomenon at restaurants that serve wine while you wait: a quiet waiting area turns into a hub of conversation and enthusiastic interchange. As Jim Lapsley commented in recommending the book, "the point is that wine reduces inhibitions". Usually the neocortex prevails with its logic: "don’t do that." As wine dulls the sharpness of the neocortex, it allows in us release.

What is extraordinary is having a scientific explanation of why wine has the impact that it does.

So, red wine is good for the heart, white wine is good for the lungs, and both are good for the emotional brain.

A leisurely meal with wine allows the limbic brain to “come out” and “play” in a setting conducive to enjoyment and relaxation, letting the guard (on duty for the neocortex) down.

The book is A General Theory of Love, by Thomas Lewis, M.D., Fari Amini, M.D., and Richard Lannon, M.D. Vintage Books, 2000

1. Do you identify yourself as more "right brain" or "left brain"?
2. How does a glass of wine affect your attitude or behavior in the course of a meal?
3. What, if any, benefits do you derive from enjoying a glass of wine?